


Gwaine: The Best Man

by h_d



Series: Gwaine the Hero [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Male Character, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Love, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-14 16:04:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2198064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_d/pseuds/h_d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Percival tells Gwaine he loves him, Gwaine turns to his friends to find out what that means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gwaine: The Best Man

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for brief mention of underage sexuality (characters are 16 or above) in the context of a memory.
> 
> The first fic focuses on Merlin and Gwaine's friendship, and this one is about Gwaine and Percival's relationship. The side pairings all get a good amount of attention here, also.

Later that night, Percy and Gwaine were having a cuddle on Percy's bed. They usually spent Saturday nights together. Gwaine wasn't nearly as focused on his own subject, sports medicine, as Merlin was on working towards becoming a teacher, but he did try never to skip class.

"So, did you expect Merlin to swoon into your arms afterwards and thank you for everything you did on his behalf?" Percy said. "Or maybe to drop to his knees?"

"What? No," Gwaine said. "Just wanted him and Arthur both to get out there and see there's more to uni than academics and moping."

"Oh," Percy said. “Hmm.”

"What is it?" Gwaine asked.

"You really aren't interested in Merlin, are you?" Percy said, sounding a little incredulous. "I know you've said as much, but I wasn't sure."

Gwaine broke free from Percy's arms and turned around. Percy's eyes were lowered. Gwaine took a fingertip and raised his dear, stubbly chin. "What's this about, then?"

Percy's eyes widened. "It's only, it's been almost two months, you and me. People talk about you, you know," he said. 

"Always nice to leave an impression," Gwaine said. He raised an eyebrow. "But go on."

"I love—I love being with you and having you to myself," Percy said. "Just wondering how much longer that's going to last."

Percy's question was a fair one. This was the longest period of time Gwaine had ever spent seeing only one person. Gwaine shrugged.

"I don't know, Perce. I can tell you that I'll never lie to you or cheat on you. And that I love being with you too. How about we just keep going on as we have? Would that be enough for you? Because you're more than enough for me." Gwaine grasped Percy's enormous biceps to make his point.

Percy's answering smile was sweet and soft. Gwaine kissed below Percy's chin, continuing down into the hollow of his throat.

"Can't believe I was lucky enough to meet you on my first day back," Gwaine said. "Soon as I saw you...you're fucking huge, right? That got me so fucking hot for you." He stopped to suck a bruising kiss into the side of Percy's neck. 

Percy gasped loudly. 

Gwaine sucked an earlobe into his mouth and bit down gently, earning himself another amazing noise, then he moved to whisper into Percy's ear. "Wanted you to hold me down and fuck me."

Percy moaned, moving to flip them over, but Gwaine firmly pushed him back with a hand on his chest. Percy glared at him, but he didn't resist. Despite the reasons behind Gwaine's initial attraction to Percy, it had actually taken more than the first couple of weeks to work up to that fantasy, as Percy wasn't shy, but the size of his body had inclined him to be gentle in bed. They both loved it now, though only sometimes.

"But I could tell right away that there was more to you than all that," Gwaine said. "It's been my best adventure yet to find out just how much."

Percy's eyes softened, again. He looked away and cleared his throat. "I think I love you, Gwaine," he said. He looked back, searching Gwaine's eyes.

Gwaine smiled warmly. It made him happy to be loved, and he wanted to tell Percy that. But he didn't know if he felt the same for Percy. He didn't know what it felt _like_. He couldn't say it back, and he didn't think he should, unless he was sure. 

Percy didn't look hurt. He reached up and pushed a lock of hair behind Gwaine's ear, which was such a tender gesture that Gwaine decided to show his appreciation. 

Gwaine kissed down Percy's chest, rubbing his scruffy face against his pecs. He smirked up at Percy and slowly dragged his mouth to a nipple, biting down. Percy cried out and Gwaine reached for Percy's cock.

It had been no disappointment to Gwaine that Percy's cock was smaller than his own. He'd had a few truly huge cocks, delivered to him in the post. It wasn't difficult to find someone to fuck him with them, and he and Percy had a lot of fun with Gwaine's collection, too. But sometimes he liked to put the toys away. Watching and feeling Percy come to life when they touched, in any way, satisfied Gwaine completely. 

Gwaine enjoyed a lot of things, but sucking cock was pretty high on the list, and sucking Percy's cock in particular might be his favourite thing he'd ever done. _Fuck, that does sound like love,_ Gwaine thought. 

He reached under Percy's waistband and pulled down his sleep trousers. He never wore pants underneath. His cock sprang out, smacking wetly against Gwaine's face. Gwaine chuckled.

"Eager for me, aren't you?" he said. He was actually addressing Percy's cock, but Percy moaned an affirmative. 

Gwaine didn't feel much like teasing tonight. He swallowed Percy down, grasping his hips and urging him to fuck his face. Percy grasped Gwaine's head roughly, and they both got lost in the sensations. Before very long at all, Percy was coming down his throat.

  
\-----  


The next day, Gwaine walked to Gwen, Morgana, and Arthur's flat on the far edge of campus. They were some of the only people he regularly spent time with who seemed immune to his charms, and he'd never quite figured out why.

Gwaine had met Gwen and Morgana at the university LGBT group last year, and when they'd introduced him to Arthur, Gwaine had started showing up at their flat now and then, in an effort to try to take Arthur out to have some fun. 

Just as with Merlin, Gwaine saw that Arthur needed a little push to get out there and meet people, and he'd done his best to make that happen. Arthur certainly had some fine qualities, like his lovely arse, but he was too uncomfortable in his own skin to hold any attraction beyond friendship for Gwaine. 

Gwaine knocked on the door, and Gwen opened it.

"Oh, hi, Gwaine," Gwen said, gracing him with one of her adorable little smiles. She was one of the loveliest women he knew. "Come in. Arthur's out, though. I think he went to see a film with Merlin, isn't that great?"

"That's fucking fantastic!" he said. He felt like punching the air.

She waved him to sit on the couch as she made them some tea. Morgana padded down the hall, wearing a long red silk bathrobe cinched at the waist. Her long hair was wrapped in a towel. She noticed him and said hello, then sat down in a chair near the couch. Gwaine thought she was very beautiful, as well, though she had a coldness about her that didn't appeal much at all. 

Gwen returned with the tea and some store-bought biscuits. "Thanks, Gwen. This is the only place I get this kind of treatment round here. You lot don't much live like uni students, do you?" he said, laughing.

Gwen shrugged, obviously embarrassed.

Morgana said, "There's no reason to live in squalor when just a little effort can make life much nicer. We all share the work here."

"Indeed, my lady," said Gwaine, lifting his pinky to sip his tea, even though it was just in a chipped old Pride mug. Gwen giggled, and Morgana huffed. He decided not to share that he hadn't done his laundry in over a month and was currently wearing Percy's boxers (donated) and Merlin's socks (stolen).

"Gwaine, I've never known you to play matchmaker before. That was rather generous of you," Morgana said. "Honestly, I would've expected you to seduce them both, scared little boys though they are."

"You don't have to be chaste to have morals," he said. He wasn't offended, but Percy's words from earlier were still with him.

"I—I don't think that's what she meant, Gwaine, of course not," Gwen said. 

"Yes it is," Morgana said.

"Well, I don't feel that way," Gwen said.

Gwaine half-smiled at Gwen. "Do you think this will be true love for our boys, then?"

"It's a little too soon to tell, I think. But Arthur was very nervous about what to wear," Gwen replied.

He nodded. That was excellent news. He saw an opening to ask about the other thing that was on his mind.

"How do you know, then? When you're in love. I assume you two feel that way," he said. He took a few of the chocolate biscuits from the tray.

The women exchanged a glance.

"Oh, Gwaine, has it finally happened? Has the noble Percival really tamed your wild heart?" Morgana said, doing the last bit in the breathless tones of a romantic heroine.

"Could be," he said, shrugging. "Maybe I just want to get to know you two better." He tossed his hair, knowing that his charms tended to loosen tongues when he needed information, but Gwen and Morgana didn't seem to notice.

Gwen said, "We're really not the ones to ask, exactly, I mean, it's not that I don't love her, of course I do, we love each other." Morgana shook her head fondly as Gwen's quick words tumbled out. "It's just that we grew up together, we've been best friends our whole lives, it was natural for us to love each other in this way, too."

"So you can't tell him why you love me? Whatever are you going to say in your vows, Gwen?" Morgana said. 

"My vows? But I haven't asked you to marry me, nor have you asked me!" Gwen said. 

"It's going to be a very expensive, very boring wedding, you standing there with nothing to say. I can already hear Father complaining about it," Morgana said, continuing in deep, sombre tones (Gwaine assumed in mockery of her father), "'First she's a lesbian and then she marries a peasant and then the peasant doesn't know she's the luckiest peasant ever to live.'"

"Oh, do shut up," Gwen said. "Your father thinks I'm wonderful. I can imitate him too, you know, only I have an actual quote. 'Morgana, if you _ever_ hurt this darling girl, you'll answer to me.'" Gwen's imitation was much funnier, full of dramatic hand gestures. "He even told _Arthur_ to look after me—Arthur, who is currently only on _his first date ever_ due to Gwaine's dastardly plot."

Gwen stopped, looking stricken, then continued, "Oh, I'm sorry, Gwaine, I didn't mean 'dastardly,' you know I didn't mean it. It was very nice of you, really, and we're ever so grateful—he's really very bad at meeting new people—"

Gwaine laughed, holding up his hands to quiet her. He was glad she didn't know about the library blackout. "No offence taken, I promise. And you two are charming, really, but I'll admit that Morgana did guess right, and none of this is helpful to me at all. Am I going to have to wait until Arthur falls in love to get a decent answer?" He raised a challenging eyebrow at Morgana. It was risky to bait her at the best of times, but he knew the Pendragon siblings were very competitive with each other.

Morgana glared at him. Then she looked at Gwen. Morgana's face, which seemed forbidding to him even without her usual stark make-up, took on a soft glow he'd never seen. "It's simple. I can't imagine life without her. There's really nothing more to it than that."

At that, Gwen stood up and moved to stand between Morgana's legs, which wasn't very appropriate given Morgana's state of dress, though Gwaine couldn't really see anything. Gwen kissed her tenderly and thoroughly, judging by the appreciative sounds coming from Morgana. Gwaine knew he was intruding on a private moment (if a rather hot one), and he was just about to leave when he heard the front door open. 

"I am in LOVE!" Arthur's voice rang out loudly.

Gwaine grinned widely, crossed his hands behind his head, and leaned back on the couch. Job well done, then.

  
\-----  


After reassuring Arthur that he wasn't going to let on to Merlin about anything that had happened while Gwaine was "skulking about" (as Arthur put it) his flat, Gwaine headed back to his dorm room.

Merlin was there, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, an adorable smile playing on his lips.

"How's it going, mate?" Gwaine asked, trying to tamp down his own glee.

Merlin sat up. He was positively beaming, now. "Oh, Gwaine, I saw Arthur today. We had the best time. We like all the same films and actors, it's brilliant. And he's so gorgeous when he laughs, he throws his whole head back," Merlin said, all in one breath. 

Gwaine sat down next to him and patted his knee. "I thought you might get on with him," Gwaine said. 

Merlin looked down and blushed. "Yes, well. Thank you for introducing us. I owe you a lot, I think."

"Best man, then," Gwaine said.

Merlin's eyes were shining. "Yes. It's yours," he said, nodding.

"Bit soon for that, mate. I was only teasing you," Gwaine said. "Also, no need for thanks. I just put the pieces on the board, you know. You two had to play the game."

Merlin shrugged. "I guess. Still, I appreciate it."

"Did you make another date?" Gwaine asked.

"Oh, well," Merlin said. "We did exchange numbers. I don't know if today was really a _date_ , though I hope it was. I'd like to date him."

Gwaine decided to bend the truth, and his promise to Arthur, just a little. It was for their own good. Gwaine held up a finger. "It was definitely a date. Now, don't expect me to share this kind of information often, but I've just got back from his flat. Gwen told me he had a very hard time choosing what to wear. He wanted to look his best for you, she said."

"For me? Really?" Merlin's grin reached all the way from one of his enormous ears to the other. "I did think he looked very nice today. He was wearing a red jumper and these jeans that showed off his—" Merlin said, and blushed bright red.

Gwaine laughed and slapped Merlin's shoulder. "I think I know what you mean, mate. Don't worry, I've noticed. Want to head down to dinner?"

  
\-----  


A few weeks later, Gwaine was watching the rugby team. They weren't so much a team as they were a loose collection of people who showed up now and then and got paired off against each other. Today, their numbers were uneven, so Gwaine was watching from the side.

Elena and Percival were both playing. The blokes were cheerful about playing touch instead of tackle when the few women who liked to play joined in. 

Percy was the tallest, most powerful-looking man on the field, and Gwaine spent most of the game gazing at the way his thighs flexed in his tight winter gym clothes, remembering the feel of those muscles under his own arse as Percy thrust into him.

Gwaine watched in amazement as Elena made herself small and darted through the triangle of Percy's legs, then stood up to run. She was covered in the mud of late fall, and she ran very fast. Percy laughed when he wasn't quick enough to tap her. Under the mud, she was wearing a jumper, over a leotard, over some tights. She was like some sort of unhinged ballet dancer on the field. 

Gwaine felt a solid whack to the back of his head. He turned around.

"Oi, stop looking at my girlfriend," Mithian said. She sat down next to him. She was a very pretty woman, although Gwaine didn't much like the way she was looking at him now.

"Caught me," he said. He winked at her, but she continued to glare. "No harm in it, mate, no harm. I was just watching her play. You're a very lucky girl, Mith."

"Right," she said, steely. "I know what you're like. I just hope that great tree of a man you've been fucking knows it, too."

Gwaine considered. An acknowledgement that both his own feelings for Percy and Mithian's feelings for Elena went beyond the physical might calm Mithian down. Gwaine really did prefer not to have enemies.

He nodded. "Actually, I'm pretty serious about him. I remember when you two got serious, last spring."

She raised her eyebrows. "You? Serious? What's that like, then?"

Gwaine shrugged. "I suppose what it's like for anyone. What's it like for you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, then looked back at the field. They were silent for a moment, listening to the laughs and shouts of the players, before Mithian began speaking.

"Well, you see how muddy she is right now? Honestly, I could never do that. I go out sometimes when the weather's fair, but I'll never be the player she is. She really goes for it."

"Yes, I was admiring that about her, too," Gwaine said, thoughtfully.

"Do you never stop?" Mithian said. She huffed. "What I meant was, that's just how she is, and she doesn't even know how rare it is. When she holds me close with her whole body, it's—I know how much she loves me. It would be impossible not to love her back." 

He met her eyes and gave her a slow nod. He could understand, relating the feeling both to Percival and to his own experiences with Elena. Elena was very special, he knew, but he didn't think he was in love with her. Mithian rolled her eyes.

"And she'd do anything for her friends. You need to stop talking her into nonsense like that library blackout. We nearly got fired over that," she said. "What was that all about?"

Gwaine lit up, not having had the opportunity to tell this story to anyone new in some time.

"It was for a good cause! You two were my knights in shining armour that night, you know. My roommate, see, he's very shy...."

  
\-----  


Gwaine thought it was rather nice that Merlin had relaxed as much as he had, although Gwaine didn't think Merlin would ever be a very mellow bloke. Fortunately for Merlin, he was dating the only bloke Gwaine had ever encountered who was even less mellow.

Merlin and Gwaine walked together one Sunday morning to get some coffee from the stall at the student union, and sat together on the steps outside, using the paper cups to warm their cold hands. Merlin had seemed a bit unusually dazed this morning at breakfast, and Gwaine had suggested the trip as a way to wake him up. He knew Merlin liked to get in as much revising as he could on Sundays.

"So how's it going with Arthur, then?" Gwaine asked.

Merlin's gaze unfocused even further, and he smiled dreamily. "We're in love," he said. 

"Are you?" Gwaine said, laughing. "It hasn't been that long. How do you know?"

"I finally told him. He felt it too, and he told me," Merlin said. He shrugged. "It was easy."

It brought to Gwaine's mind one of Gwen's many words for love: natural. It was natural and easy for Gwaine to show affection, sure; he just didn't know about love. This was all very confusing.

"But what's it like?" Gwaine pressed. "I don't know if I've ever been in love."

"You haven't?" Merlin's mouth rounded in surprise. "But I thought you had probably been in love lots of times."

Gwaine shook his head.

Merlin looked back at him, then away. "Well. Did you know that Arthur's father decided he would study business at university, even though Arthur wants to become a teacher, like me?"

"I didn't know that, mate," Gwaine said. “Sounds rough.”

"Yeah. Gwen says Mr Pendragon doesn't have any problem with both of his kids being gay, as long as someone raises a child at some point. And she and Morgana have always wanted to be parents, right?" Merlin said. "But he wanted Arthur and Morgana both to study business. Morgana loves it, but not Arthur. He wants to teach literature. Their father threatened to cut him off, just for that." 

"I see," Gwaine said. 

"For the first couple months of this term, Arthur thought he'd either have to give in or drop out of school. He explained it all to me on our third date, that he might not be here much longer, and why. I think he was warning me early, expecting me to leave. I told him that he should do as he liked, and I'd wait to date him if he had to leave uni," Merlin said. He grinned ruefully. "Even if he did end up poor as I am, in the end." 

Gwaine nodded. He had noticed the scarcity of Merlin's possessions, how threadbare his blankets and clothes were. But he knew Merlin wasn't the sort to be drawn to wealth, or to the promise of future wealth, and that the kindred spirit he saw in Arthur was worth far more to him than a life of ease would be. "You're a good man, Merlin," Gwaine said.

Merlin blushed at the compliment. "Well, thank you. But, even though we hadn't known each other long by that point, that was when I started to think that what I was feeling was real," he said.

"How's that, then?" Gwaine asked. He marvelled at how much and how calmly Merlin talked to him now; it really was great to be his friend.

"My mother always told me that love was about the future, about building a life with someone and wanting what was best for them," Merlin said. "I know we're young, and anything could happen down the road. But I want what's best for Arthur, and to travel that road with him, if I can." He shrugged and sipped his coffee.

Gwaine nodded thoughtfully. That made sense, but some of it almost sounded like a deeper kind of friendship. He thought about his own instincts towards Merlin and towards Arthur himself. He'd tried to give them both the best he could, hadn't he? But he definitely wasn't in love with them. It was completely different from what he felt for Percy. 

"So how did it work out? Is Arthur studying literature?" he asked.

"Yes. When Arthur's father saw that he didn't have much power, since Gwen and Morgana would protect Arthur as best they could, he changed his mind. They were all very relieved," Merlin said. "But Arthur was glad that I'd stood beside him, too. He said it showed him a lot about me." 

"I'm sure it did, mate," Gwaine said. "Now come on, let's go inside and get warm. About to freeze my bollocks off." 

A few hours went by in their room. Merlin revised quietly, while Gwaine revised in between breaks to text with Percy. 

A knock came to their door. Gwaine opened it. Arthur was standing there, looking impeccable as always in a thick overcoat and black leather gloves, his shiny blond hair smoothed down. He was holding a plastic container of soup.

"Hello Gwaine. Is Merlin in?" Gwaine had noticed that Arthur rarely made eye contact when he spoke, at least not with Gwaine.

Gwaine stepped aside to wave Arthur into the room and shut the door. He watched as Merlin's face lit up and Arthur kissed him, sweetly.

"I know how cold you get over here, so I brought you some won-ton soup," Arthur said. "I have an extra blanket for you, too. You can keep it. I don't need it."

He handed the soup to Merlin, removed his gloves, and dropped his rucksack to the bed. He opened it and produced a beautiful red velvet blanket.

"Arthur! This is _your_ blanket. Now you'll be cold!" Merlin scolded, but Gwaine could see that he was pleased. "But thank you. For the soup, too."

"Yes, Merlin, it _is_ my blanket, how good of you to notice. And I have five others stacked up in the linen closet. Now shut up and eat your soup," Arthur said. He fished in one of his coat pockets. “Here's the spoon.”

Merlin shook his head fondly and complied.

Gwaine had spent this exchange pretending to be engrossed in his mobile, but now he lifted his head. 

"How are you, Arthur? Next film night's coming up, yeah?" Gwaine said.

"Yes, we'll be there," Arthur said, without looking at him. He was messing about with the blanket, seeing how he'd need to fold it so it would fit on the narrow bed.

Gwaine grinned wickedly at Merlin. "Merlin and I were talking this morning and—" Gwaine began.

Merlin's eyebrows shot up at that, and he started to sputter around his mouthful of soup. "Gwaine!"

Arthur stopped his busy motions and turned to Gwaine. "This sounds interesting. Go on," he said.

"I was wondering what love means to you, Arthur," Gwaine said. He tossed his hair.

Arthur blushed bright red and stared straight ahead.

"Why?" Arthur said, finally, darting a quick glance down at Gwaine out of the corner of his eye.

Gwaine set his mobile aside. "I'm not trying to fuck with you boys, really. It's only that I think I might be in love, but I'm not sure. So I've been asking around." He shrugged. "Maybe you could help me out."

"Oh. Well, in that case," Arthur grumbled, still embarrassed.

Merlin swallowed his soup. He was smirking at Arthur. "It's okay, Arthur. Just tell him what you told me. He won't laugh."

Arthur's blush deepened, if that were possible. He sat down carefully next to Merlin. His hand absently stroked his red blanket, and it was a long moment before he cleared his throat and spoke. "For me, it has to do with protecting the ones I love, making sure I'm always there for them," he said. 

Gwaine nodded. There was so much pride in Arthur's words. Gwaine was glad that things had worked out with his father, for now. "Thank you, Arthur," he said. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," Arthur said gruffly.

Gwaine could see Arthur's discomfort with him wasn't about to disappear anytime soon, so he decided to drop in on Percy; he could revise (or not) just as easily over there.

  
\-----  


Before Gwaine knew it, it was almost time for winter break. He was leading Percy into his room after a jog one Saturday afternoon when he opened his wardrobe, reaching for a clean (well, clean-ish) towel, but it wasn't where he usually kept it. He felt around.

"Going to grab a shower, Perce, you can get one after me if you want, if you don't mind using my towel, that is—"

"Wait," Percy interrupted. "Look inside your wardrobe."

Gwaine peered at him, then turned around and did as Percy had said.

All of his clothes were neatly folded, and it smelled clean, cleaner than it had in a good long while.

"You did this?" Gwaine asked. He couldn't believe it.

Percy sat down in Gwaine's desk chair. "Er, yeah. I got Merlin to let me in. I know you never do your own. Always borrowing my pants, aren't you? So I thought it might make a good Christmas gift. I bought you new detergent, too. It's on the bottom there." Percy was turning pink and looking anywhere but at Gwaine. 

Gwaine smiled, unexpectedly warmed. "Thanks, mate. That was really nice of you," he said. 

"Oh, it wasn't much," Percy said. "But I won't do it outside of special occasions, mind. That's what the detergent is for."

Gwaine laughed. "I understand." 

Gwaine had been very nervous about the personal nature of his gift for Percy, but after this, he knew it was perfect.

Gwaine got to his knees and reached under his bed, producing a large, flat package wrapped in some cheery Christmas paper Gwaine had filched from Merlin.

"Happy Christmas, Percy," he said, handing it to him. He watched Percy's face as he carefully unwrapped the package. When Percy found what appeared to be a heart-shaped box of chocolates inside, he laughed loudly, without opening the box.

"You have the rest of the crate stashed away under there, then?" he said, bending his head as though to look under the bed.

"What crate? Come on, look inside," Gwaine said, impatiently. But Percy set the candy box down on Gwaine's desk. His eyes were dancing with merriment.

"I don't even like chocolates. Last summer, you probably filled up a crate with these, so you could give one to all of your conquests this year," Percy said. 

Gwaine felt the force of Percy's words like a punch to the stomach, leaving him speechless for a moment. His eyes moved from Percy's face to the floor. He was breathing hard, and he turned around mechanically to get a towel and his toiletry bag.

"Oh no, love, listen, that was a joke, just a bad joke. You usually laugh at that sort of thing, don't you? Come here, now, don't run off," Percy said. 

Gwaine looked back at Percy. He was gently beckoning him closer. But, for once, Gwaine didn't feel much like touching him. Gwaine could see concern and confusion spread across Percy's handsome features. He left his room.

Gwaine had learned a lot of secrets about Percy, things that no one would guess about him, during their relationship. He had learned that Percy's body was surprisingly pliant and often overwarm; that he was studying to be a veterinarian because he loved animals; that he liked romantic films, even though Gwaine hated them; that he detested chocolates but loved butterscotch candy; that although Percy preferred to top, he would do anything Gwaine wanted in bed. 

He'd learned about himself too: that he liked waking up with Percy better than he liked waking up alone; that he loved Percy's sex noises, but that he also loved the sounds he produced when Gwaine massaged his calves; that having such a fit jogging partner improved his own stamina, and he'd never felt better about his workouts.

So, the prior week, when Gwaine helped Gwen finish off the assorted chocolates in the box, which had been a "for no reason" gift from Morgana, he asked her if he could keep it. He cleaned it out and filled it back up himself, with a big handful of butterscotch lollipops, a couple bottles of good lube so they could treat themselves instead of making do with the packets from the health centre, and a pink silk rose the exact colour of Percy's lips (and the head of Percy's cock). He had imagined Percy's mouth doing obscene things to one of the lollipops, had imagined himself licking the taste of it out of Percy's mouth after. But now, the idea had lost its allure.

 _I shouldn't have expected anything from him,_ Gwaine thought as he marched to the communal bathroom down the hall. He remembered what his first lover, a sad-eyed girl named Freya, had told him, when Gwaine was 16 and she was 20.

"People will let you down if you give them half a chance, I say, so why let them? Better to just have fun," she'd said. 

And they had. Things had been nice with her; with Gilli after her; with Gilli and Owain together; with Elena; with Elena and Mithian together, at least the first time; and with Gilli again when he'd visited the university for a weekend in late spring. There had been a few others mixed in there, too, people whose names Gwaine had never known, although he could still remember their faces. Gwaine had never made any promises, and no one had ever spoken to him of love, until Percy.

Now Gwaine had gone and put his promises right in Percy's hands, and they'd meant nothing. Freya had been right. The others he'd asked, they'd had it all wrong. _They'll all find out someday, too,_ he thought. He could feel tears beginning in his throat and hoped that he would be under the showerhead before they began.

Instead, he felt somewhat calmed when the warm water began to beat down on him. He washed and conditioned his hair and soaped up his body. _So what,_ Gwaine told himself. _I flirt with lots of people, every day. Depriving them, aren't I, staying with one person._ But he wasn't comforted. It was easy enough to imagine fucking other people, but when he imagined waking up with another warm body, one who wasn't Percy, his chest felt tight with pain. 

He heard the door to the bathroom open, which wasn't uncommon; there were 15 boys' rooms on this floor, and only the one bathroom. He carried on washing.

Suddenly, the curtain that separated the back of his shower stall from the rest of the bathroom was pushed aside. Gwaine turned and Percy was standing there, naked. Gwaine wasn't averse to sharing a shower with him; if anyone really minded, they could complain to the floor advisor, and no one had. Usually they just showered and went back to Gwaine's room for any actual sex. But he didn't want to see Percy at the moment. Gwaine gave him an unimpressed look and turned back around.

Percy invaded his space, wrapping his huge arms around Gwaine's waist. He pressed up against Gwaine's back. "I'm so sorry, Gwaine. I didn't mean it that way. I love you, I do," Percy said into Gwaine's ear. "I can't tell you how much."

The attention did feel nice, and Gwaine hadn't expected it. But he was still hurting. He turned his head to the side, away from the water, to make sure he was heard, and his words came out louder than he'd intended. "I understand that you think you love me. Do you trust me, though? Will you ever?" His anger echoed off the tiled walls.

Percy stroked Gwaine's stomach gently. "Shh. I do," he whispered. "Let me help you wash up."

Gwaine shrugged his hands off. He rinsed his hair and body and left Percy in the shower. He dried off, wrapped a towel around his waist, and waited for him outside the stall.

When Percy finished up, they returned to Gwaine's room. Merlin was spending the night at Arthur's flat, as he often did these days. Under those circumstances, Gwaine and Percy would not have ordinarily bothered changing back into clothes. But he grabbed some clean pyjamas from the stack in his wardrobe and handed a pair of loose jogging bottoms to Percy.

After they were both dressed, Gwaine sat down on his bed and Percy joined him, much further away than usual.

"Gwaine, I'm so sorry. I've really ruined this, haven't I?" Percy said. His voice was full of regret. "I never thought that I would hurt you. You always seemed like..." He trailed off.

"Like I had no feelings? Like I had no care for anyone?" Gwaine said. He saw Percy wince. "No, I know you didn't think that. I do laugh at those kinds of jokes. But it's different with you. I feel different with you."

Percy nodded. "I know. It's just been hard for me to believe that you'd stay with only me, when everyone wants you. Why choose me?"

"You'd be surprised, mate. A lot of people want you, too," Gwaine said. Beyond that, he didn't much want to answer the question. He'd said all of it many times before.

Percy looked away. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"That's not important, anyway," Percy said. "I want you to know that I do trust you. In fact, I was going to ask you something, before all this happened."

"What's that?" Gwaine said, still feeling wary.

"Well, I got tested, you know, for STDs. I was thinking you could get tested too and we could stop using condoms. If you want," he said.

Gwaine's eyes widened. He'd never done that with anyone before, had never even considered it, and was turned on despite himself. He thought about how it would feel to fuck into Percy bare—for Percy to fuck him that way—

"Absolutely," said Gwaine. He grinned and leaned back. "That's so fucking hot, mate. In fact, I just did get tested last week. I do it every six months, and I spent the summer wanking and lifting weights, so no trouble there. What do you say?" He cocked his head to the side.

Percy didn't respond to Gwaine's invitation. "I don't—" Percy started. "I don't think you understand."

"What's there to understand?" Gwaine rolled onto his stomach and crawled over to where Percy sat, moving his head into Percy's lap. The smell of Gwaine's soap on Percy's skin gave Gwaine a hot spark of possessiveness, of wanting to cover all of Percy in his scent.

"I meant to show you that I do trust you. I know you wouldn't cheat on me. I've never thought that," Percy said. He moved his big hand to rub into Gwaine's wet head. "I just didn't think I was enough."

Gwaine made a sound of impatience. Percy stilled his hand, gripping Gwaine's hair. "Shh, no, I know now."

Gwaine looked up. Percy was blushing again.

"I opened your gift. I liked it a lot," he said. "I know that you love me. Even if you don't know how to say it."

Gwaine beamed at him, and he sat up and poured himself into Percy's lap, wrapping his arms and legs around him tightly. Gwaine kissed him, then, enjoying the little sounds Percy made when Gwaine rubbed his scruff along his face.

Gwaine pulled back. "You're right, that is a big step, Perce," he said. "Thank you for trusting me. It means a lot. I trust you too, of course." He held Percy's head to his chest and pressed a kiss to his scalp. He continued, in a whisper, “And I love you.” He felt Percy nod.

Percy's hands drifted to his hips and nudged him back a little further. Gwaine sat between his spread legs. 

"Also, I was thinking," Percy said, and stopped. Gwaine motioned for him to continue. "I was thinking that it's not so important to have you all to myself. It's just that I don't want to be without you. If you like, sometimes, there could be another person, with us. I don't fancy women myself, but that would be okay, as long as I didn't have to do much with her, you know. A man would be fine, too. Whatever you like." He gave Gwaine a little smile that was overwhelmingly soppy and sincere.

Gwaine thought about it. He did like that sort of thing. He just liked Percy more.

"Well, if you want to, Perce. It _is_ fun, I won't deny it, and I'd love to do that with you sometime. But we'd be back to condoms, then, and it's not necessary, for me. I'm happy with just you," he said. "We can decide together, if the opportunity ever arises."

Percy nodded. "Okay," he said. He moved Gwaine back to his lap and tightened his arms around him, and they held each other close. 

"Now," Gwaine said. "I think we should use some of that lube. What do you say?"

He felt Percy chuckling against his chest.

  
\-----  


Gwaine did share a few of his stories about Merlin and Arthur in his best man speech five years later, but his real favourites were for Percy's ears alone.

"And it was on Merlin's very first day when I told him about the doorknob code, you know, it's a _good_ code, and he never came in even once when I had a tie out, but one day I opened the door and there they were—"

Percy's jaw dropped. "You actually caught them fucking?"

"No! They were sitting there, completely naked on Merlin's bed, playing chess. They had one of those fancy digital timers. And they were _so intent_ on the game, they didn't even notice I'd come in! You remember that room, it was like a box."

Percy laughed. "You've never told me this one before. What happened?"

Gwaine had actually been saving this story for this particular day, but he was enjoying telling it far too much to stop and say so. 

"They weren't under the covers. I don't think they'd even got that far, back then. The bed was all made up; Merlin fixed it every morning. So when they _did_ notice me, there was nothing they could do. Merlin blushed, and let me tell you that blush goes _everywhere_ , if you ever wondered—oh, you never wondered—well, _I_ did—but Arthur scoffed, like I was a gnat on his shoe. He didn't even look at me! I said, 'Please, boys, finish your game.' And they did!"

"What did you do?" Percy asked.

"I left, didn't I? I'm not that bad, love," Gwaine said.

"You're not bad, Gwaine," Percy said, shaking his head. "Not bad at all." He gave Gwaine a kiss and pulled him onto his lap, which was Gwaine's very favourite place to be, all things (and all laps) considered.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
